[IPAndrews]

Hello all. I'm considering buying the Half Life 2 Orange Box, and thus - installing Steam  . The main reason is Team Fortress 2. I was a big fan of Team Fortress Classic which is to date the most fun I've had with an online game. How does the new version compare to the old? I'm a bit wary because of Counter Strike Source. Which looked good on paper but kind of lost something in it's new incarnation. Does the new TF continue the tradition of hilariously silly chaos? What's the cheating/aimbot situation like?

[G0atmaster]

TF2 is incredibly close to recapturing the fun I  had with TFC.  Close, but not quite.  It's fun and well worth the price, and the cartoonish nature is in itself comical.  It's the only source game I know of that actually has gibs (which adds an even more odd comedy to the cartooniness of it).  On the down side, there's no grenades (except the demoman), somewhat limited weapon selection (each class has 3, at least one melee), and teleporters are still there.  And there is presently no way to play a game of good old-fashioned Hunted (there isn't even a civilian class anymore).  Also, Capture point maps are a but more intense.  I was in a round of warpath that went on for over 2 hours a little while ago.  Respawn timer is much extended, unless the server is running mods that reduce it.  All in all, though, it's a fairly worthy competitor of a TFC replacement.  I haven't played Fortress Forever, so I can't really compare it to that.

[diceman111]

TF2 Rules and with the orange Box you get HL2 + Episode 1 & 2 and those are some of the best games ever mad (ok maybe not Ep 1).
Asfor the grenade i think its good that they have been removed since the game as it is are very well balanced.

[Bobboau]

don't forget portal.

[Unknown Target]

It's well worth it, TF2 + Portal sell the box. The Half Life crap is just that, crap, buy it for the other games included.

Especially Peggle!

[colecampbell666]

Get ToB. It is awesomely fun, and it's half the price of getting each game separate. And while you're at it, GMod is also a worthy addon.

I didn't like TF2, I just didn't. I bought it for HL2, and mainly Portal. It won't disappoint you.

[G0atmaster]

Halflife 2 EP2 was actually pretty good IMO.  Doesn't even feel all that short like EP1 does.  I played EP2 first, because somehow I broke EP1, then I fixed EP1 and played it and felt there was no comparison in terms of length.

[Unknown Target]

I tried to play through Ep 1 and got bored, then uninstalled it because I need the room.

[Bobboau]

ep 1 is good if you have an hour or two to burn.

[colecampbell666]

In EP2, when the Vortigaunts heal Alyx, did you get a massive framerate drop? Cause I get between 10 and 25 FPS, but I got like 1 during that sequence.

[G0atmaster]

i didn't

[spartan_0214]

I just got the Orange Box yesterday. Couldn't play it yesterday though, the CD Key was not in the box. So it was another trip to Best Buy.

 

 
[Packaging Company]

However, I did get to install it at about 13:00 today and proceeded to play Portal. 18:00 found me racing downstairs for dinner after only a single hour of HL2. To me, the $50 was worth it just for Portal, let alone the HL2 anthology + TF2. I haven't gotten to play TF2, but PCG says it's a great sequel that stays true to Team Fortress. I haven't played TF, so I don't know about it being a good-and-true sequel, but I can't wait to play it. Overall, The Orange Box is definitely worth every penny.

  to VALVe. (and I probably won't play Freespace 2 for another month...)

[Bobboau]

TF2's biggest downfall is lack of maps, i.e. there isn't enough of it.

[G0atmaster]

There's no Hunted, nor a possibility (at this point) of a fan-made hunted.  So there's no "Good and true" about it.

However, TF2 in itself is a great, fun game.

[colecampbell666]

TF2's biggest downfall is lack of maps, i.e. there isn't enough of it.

Apparently there are two new ones coming in the next patch. I only have it installed to use in GMod.

As for the FPS thing, It is some thing that happens at the start of the cutscene that f***s it up until you restart the game, because halfway through the agony, I saved and quit, and when I reloaded it (where the G-Man is in the silo) it was fine. When I reloaded it from before the Vortigaunts started, it happened again. It happens right when they change color.